All Too Human
by penguino3782
Summary: They have survived werewolves, kanimas, evil druids, and a nogitsune. But, it takes something microscopic to cause the most damage and remind them that Stiles is all too human.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf**

 **A/N: I've been playing with the idea of this story for a while now, but I finally decided to act on it. I hope you all enjoy!**

 **All Too Human-Chapter 1**

To say that Stiles isn't a morning person is putting it mildly. He's a night owl. He does his best thinking in the middle of the night when he should be in bed sleeping. When he goes away to college next year his plan is not to have one class start before ten if he can help it. Oh he cannot wait to her the blessed silence in the morning without a damn alarm going off, or his dad yelling at him to get up and get ready for school.

"Stiles!"

Speak of the devil he thinks to himself as he flinches in pain. Did his father have to yell so loud? God. He's exhausted. What time did he go to bed last night? Wait, he actually crashed early last night. He had a killer headache that no amount of Tylenol even put a dent in. He was hoping a good night sleep would help. No such luck. His head is still killing him.

"Stiles!" His father yells even louder as he opens the door to his son's bedroom. He shakes his head when he sees his son is still in bed. "You're not even up yet?"

Stiles go to shake his head, but stops when a wave of agony pulses through his head. Noticing his son's pain, the sheriff steps further into the room. "You okay?"

Stiles mutters a weak assurance that he is. This time he's careful to keep his head still not wanting to exacerbate the relentless pain in his skull

"Do you think you can make it to school? Or should I call you out?"

Stiles really can't afford to miss a day. He has a couple of big tests and projects coming up and needs to do well because these are the last grades that go along with his college applications. Plus, today is an early release day. He can battle through a couple of hours. "I think I'll be okay for school. The teachers have professional development, so we're getting out at noon."

The sheriff gives his son a small smile. "Okay, then you need to get going. It's almost seven."

Stiles makes a show moving his blankets aside to illustrate that he is in fact on the move. Satisfied, his father leaves him to get ready. He flops back down on his bed when he hears his father on the stairs. "I can do this. It's just a couple of hours."

 **XXXXX**

It doesn't take long for Stiles to regret his decision to come to school. The ride to school was awful. Not only did he have the mother of all headaches, but now he has relentless nausea to go along with it. He almost had to pull over a couple of times when the nausea got too bad. Luckily, he didn't throw up. Unfortunately, he has a feeling it has more to do with the fact that he has virtually nothing in his system and not because his headache is letting up at all.

"You look awful!"

"Are you okay? You look sick."

Yeah, his friends are the greatest. Yeah, not so much at the moment. He frowns when he sees Kira and Lydia giving him matching looks of disgust mixed with concern. If he looks half as bad as he feels, he must look like shit. The last thing he needs is their commentary.

"Jeeze, guys. You really know how to make a guy get all fuzzy inside."

Lydia rolls his eyes. "Seriously, though. You look awful. Are you okay?"

Stiles rubs his head. "Yeah, I just got a bad headache," He explains as Scott joins his friends.

"Dude, you look like shit!" Scott says.

"Glad to see that SAT word a day calendar has done a lot of good," Stiles mutters.

"I texted you last night," Scott says. "I had a question about our English homework."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I crashed at like eight."

Scott's guys get large in alarm. "You never got to bed that early. You ok?"

Stiles rubs his head again. "Yeah, just have a really bad headache."

"You sure it's not a migraine?" Kira asks.

Lydia shakes her head. "Nah. My mother gets those. There's no way he would be here if this is what it is."

"Sorry, but why are you here?" Scott asks concerned.

"My sentiments exactly! If you're sick you shouldn't be here spreading the plague," Lydia admonishes.

"Look, guys. It's an early release day. I can make it. Besides, I would rather save my absences for the end of the year."

Scott and Kira don't seem too convinced and Lydia is even worse. She moves forward, placing a small hand on his forehead checking for a temperature.

"No temperature," she says.

"See?" Stiles says with some enthusiasm. "I told you guys, it's just a headache."

"Fine, but if you feel like you have a fever go to the nurse," Lydia says.

"Or if you're headache gets worse," Kira chimes in.

"Or if you puke," Scott adds.

The warning bell for first period rings before Stiles could reply. He waves his friends' concern off as he heads to first period.

XXXXX

Who would have thought that a 4 ½ hour school day would have felt like a forty-eight hour day? Definitely, not Stiles when he told his father and friends that he would power through it. No way would he had been able to make it through a full day. He made it, but barely. However, on his way home he did have to pull over to throw up the little water that that he managed to drink throughout the morning.

"Ahhhh," Stiles moans when he collapses onto his bed. He's just about to nod of when his cell phone rings. Ugh. He wants to ignore it, but he knows that he probably won't get any peace until he talks to whoever is calling him.

"Hello," Stiles' voice croaks.

" _Stiles? How you feeling, bud?"_ _His father asks._

"Been better," Stiles answers honestly as he flips onto his side. A loud groan exits his lips when a pain of agony pulses from his head to his neck.

" _You okay?"_

"Yeah, just moved wrong."

" _You sure you're okay?"_

"Yeah…" Stiles says.

" _Do you want me to come home? I was calling to tell you that Riley called out so I was going to work a double. But, I'll ask Parrish to work Riley's shift so I can come home."_

"No, Dad. It's fine. I'm just going to sleep it off. I'm okay."

" _Are you sure?"_

"Yeah, what are you going to do if you're home? Go through old case files when I'm sleeping? Might as well get the overtime when you can."

 _His father laughs. "You know me to well."_

"I do," Stiles agrees.

" _Yeah, so you know to call me if you get worse."_

"I do,"

" _Okay, I'll let you get some rest, kiddo."_

"Bye, Dad."

" _Bye, Stiles."_

After ending the call Stiles tosses his phone on his night stand. Hopefully, now that he talked to his father and his friends told him to get some rest, he should be able to get some hours of undisturbed sleep in. And then hopefully he can get rid of this damn headache.

 **I already have this story planned out, so I hope to have chapter two up fairly quickly. I hope you guys have enjoyed what I have so far!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Teen Wolf.**

 **A/N: I just wanted to say a quick thanks to all of you who have alerted, favorited, and reviewed this little story. You guys rock! From here on out the sheriff will be named John. I have planned this story to be about five chapters. And here is chapter two already, I'm impressed with myself! I hope you all enjoy this little installment.**

 **All Too Human-Chapter 2**

The Sheriff runs his hand through his hair when he pulls into the driveway. He can't help but sigh when he spots Stiles' jeep in the driveway. It's after eight and Stiles is still home. Regret instantly washes over him. Stiles never called to tell him that he was going to stay home. That's testament to how badly his son must be feeling. His son was home sick and he was at work. God he feels like a shitty father.

He quickly exits the car and makes his way into the house. The dishes that he put in the sink the morning before are still there, but none are added. Everything is exactly as he left it the day before. The house is quiet, too quiet. It's so quiet that it's basically lulling him to sleep. His bed is calling him, but first he needs to check on Stiles.

The sheriff gently nudges his son's bedroom door open. "Stiles? How you feeling, kiddo?"

The only answer he gets is silence. He moves cautiously into the room and sighs when he sees the lump of blankets in the middle of the bed. Stiles still hasn't moved as the sheriff itches his way to his son's bed. He frowns when he sees the garbage can on the side of his son's bed. "Oh, Stiles," the sheriff whispers when he sees the liquid mess at the bottom of the can.

"Kiddo?" The older Stilinski asks as he touches his son's shoulder. His fear for his son jumps into over drive when his hand makes contact with his son's overheated body. God, the kid is burning up! He feels a piece of his heart break when his son's lets out a low whimper. "Jesus! Stiles?! Son?!"

But, instead of answering his father Stiles burrows himself deeper into his pillow

 **XXXXX**

Stiles thinks he hears his dad talking to him. But, he can't be sure. Isn't his father working a double? Whoever it is he, he can't answer them because he's afraid any movement will cause his head to explode. He really hopes he doesn't throw up again. That was pure agony when he threw up earlier. And these damn chills shaking his body isn't helping his throbbing either.

God, he wants his dad. His dad can fix this. If not him maybe Scott could get Deaton to summon some ancient goddess who can cure headaches from hell. At this point he doesn't care who or what it is, he needs this hell to end. He goes to open his mouth but nothing comes out. And who the hell is trying to take his blanket away from him? Can't they see his teeth chattering? He's freaking freezing!

 **XXXXX**

"Stiles? Son? Talk to me," John orders as he tries to maneuver his son onto his back so he can get a better look at his sick son. But, Stiles won't have any of it. Sighing, he tries to get some of the several blankets off his furnace of a son. But, once again John hits a brick wall with that too for his son has a death grip on the blankets. "Bud, you gotta help me here. You're burning up." Stiles still won't let go, so John tries another approach. He places a calloused hand on his son's flushed cheek. "Come on, kiddo. Let me help you." A piece of the sheriff's heart breaks when his son moves towards the no doubt cooler touch and lets out a whimper. But, he still won't let go of those damn blankets!

"Come on kid, open your eyes for me."

Finally, after several long moments the sheriff's wish is granted when his son opens his two very glazed, fever bright eyes to mere slits.

"That's it, kiddo." John coaxes

"Da? Da?" Stiles croaks out.

The sheriff lets out a relieved sigh. "Yeah, bud. It's me."

"Okay?" Stiles asks.

The sheriff frowns at his son's vague question. Is he asking if his father or if he himself okay?

"Okay?" Stiles asks again. This time there's more aggravation in his voice. The lack of his response from his father only seems to add to his distress. He begins to move around, but stops suddenly bringing a hand to his head moaning in pain.

The sheriff can't take seeing his son like this. He takes a seat on his son's bed. He finally stops his son's restless moving by pulling him close to his chest. He can't help but grimace when he feels his son's sweat soaking through to his uniform shirt. "Shhhhh. You're going to be okay. Now, tell me what hurts."

But, Stiles seems to be in a world of pain where his father's calming tone and promises can't reach him. The sheriff is torn between leaving his son whimpering in pain or getting the thermometer. He needs to know what his son's temperature is. Luckily, he is saved from making such a decision when he hears footsteps bounding up the stairs.

The sheriff has never been happier to see the slightly disheveled appearance of his son's best friend. "Oh, thank god. It's damn good to see you, Scott."

"What's wrong with him?" Scott asks. Even though the young man in front of him is an alpha werewolf, the sheriff can hear how scared his son's best friend is.

The sheriff shakes his head. "No idea, but I need you to get the thermometer. It's in the bathroom in the medicine cab-"Scott is out of the room before the sheriff can finish his sentence once again leaving him alone with his son who is keening in his arms. "Shhh. I got you, kiddo. Just hold on."

"Here!" Scott yells as she runs back into the room. He quickly places it in his best friend's ear, ignoring his friend's cry of pain.

"Shhhh, it's okay." The sheriff looks over his son's head to Scott. "What is it?"

Scott bites his lip. "Um, 104.2"

"Shit!" The sheriff curses. He's about to tell the young alpha to call 911 when his son's moaning and keening in his arms abruptly stops. He looks down at his son. "Stiles, you okay?" But instead of answering his father, Stiles' body goes rigid just before convulsions began to wrack his frail body. He reluctantly lets his son's body go to prevent any more injury.

Scott looks at the sheriff at a loss. He no doubt wants to do something to help his friend, but at this point there's nothing to do as they wait out the seizure. Nearly two minutes later, the awful shaking stops. The sheriff takes control. "Scott, call your mother and let her know what's going on."

Scott nods as he takes out his phone. "You're calling 911?"

The sheriff shakes his head. "I have the cruiser here. It'll be faster to take him in ourselves instead of waiting for an ambulance." The sheriff moves back to Stiles. His son is limp. The seizure taking the last of his energy. He takes extra care as he wipes the drool off his son's chin and bundles him in a single blanket as chills continue to rattle his son's body.

"Mom will be there waiting for us," Scott says as he moves towards Stiles bed. He sees the sheriff go to pick Stiles up and stops him. "I got him." The sheriff gives him a look of gratitude as he effortlessly lifts his friend into this arms.

The three are soon in front of the police cruiser. Scott carefully maneuvers his friend into the back seat before turning to the sheriff. "You want me to drive?"

"Nah, you ride in the back with him. I feel better if I was the one driving a speeding cop car with the sirens going. Besides, you can do that werewolf taking the pain away trick." The sheriff looks at the young werewolf sadly. "He needs you in the back with him."

Scott doesn't need to be told twice and quickly jumps into the back seat, positioning Stiles so his head is resting on Scott's lap. Agonizing pain is the first thing that registers when Scott places his hand on his friend's head. "Hold on Stiles," Scott begs as the sheriff speeds towards the hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf.**

 **A/N: I can't believe the response this story is getting. It's you guys who keep pushing me to update so frequently. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!**

 **All Too Human-Chapter 3**

"What's wrong with him?

"Do I look like I have a medical degree?"

"Easy, no need for the attitude."

"Yeah, we're all worried about Stiles."

"How long has he been in there?"

"About ten minutes since you asked me last."

"Can you stop pacing, you're making me nauseous."

"I'm going to see if I can find my mom to see what's going on."

"Your mom will come out when she knows something."

John loves his son's friends. He really does. But, can they please just shut up for a minute, so he can let himself think? Kira and Lydia joined him and Scott not too long ago, but he feels like it's been hours since he pulled up to the Emergency Room with Melissa and a team of doctors waiting at the entrance bay to retrieve a still unconscious Stiles from Scott's arms.

"You don't think it has something to do with the nogitsune, do you?" Kira asks in a horrified not so whisperish voice. "Sorry," she says when she sees the haunting look on John's face.

Please, no. He doesn't know if he can go through that again. He came way too close to losing Stiles.

"John!"

Oh, thank God. He turns to see Melissa rushing to him. He and the teenagers meet her at the entrance of the waiting room. "Is he conscious? Is he—"

He stops when she puts up her hand to stop his questions. "First, he is conscious. Second, we don't know for sure what's wrong. We have a couple of suspicions based on the symptoms he exhibited before you brought him in as well as the exam we're in the middle of conducting."

"What are you thinking?" John asks.

"Besides the headache, vomiting, and high fever he is also complaining a stiff neck and sensitivity to light." Melissa explains.

John is getting frustrated. He just wants to know what the hell is wrong with his kid. "Okay, now that we went through his medical history, what are you guys thinking is wrong with him?"

The sheriff's biting tone isn't lost on Melissa, but she knows this is not the time to call him out on it. She knows how she gets when her own child is in danger. So she'll let the attitude go, for now.

"We're thinking its meningitis." Melissa says.

Now, all John knows about meningitis is that most colleges require their students to get a meningitis vaccine upon acceptance. Stiles mentioned it to him when the teenager started looking into the college application process. But, that's the extent of his knowledge of meningitis.

But, based on Lydia's sharp intake of air. He knows it's not good.

"What is it? Is it bad?" John asks.

"It's an inflammation of the lining of the brain," Lydia says softly.

Melissa gives the redhead a sad smile. "You're right, Lydia."

"You can treat that, right?" Scott asks.

Melissa nods her head. "We can, but we have to know which kind it is first. It can be viral or bacterial."

"How do you find that out?" John asks.

"We need to perform a lumbar puncture."

"Lumbar puncture?"

"You guys may know it as a spinal tap. The doctor inserts a needle into the spine and takes a sample of cerebrospinal fluid. The results will tell us what exactly we're dealing with. " Melissa clarifies.

Spinal tap? Anything involving the spine isn't good. And getting a needle shoved into your spine. God, Stiles hates needles. The kid must be terrified.

"Have you done one yet?" Kira asks.

Melissa shakes her head. "Stiles is too restless between the pain and the fever, he's all out of sorts. And unfortunately we can't give him any medication until we know for sure what we're up against. That's why I came out here." She turns to John. "He's asking for you. We're hoping that once he sees you he'll calm down, and Dr. Tyler can do the LP."

The sheriff nods his head and starts to follow Melissa to his son. He's almost in the hallway and stops. He turns to the group of teenagers "Scott?"

The teenager comes rushing over, "Yeah?"

The sheriff bites his lip as if he is regretting what he is about to say. But, then he takes another look at the Scott and the two teenaged girls. He knows that they will do anything for each other. He saw that time and time again. And right now Scott is what his son needs. He turns to Scott. "You're coming with us. The doctors probably can't give him anything for the pain until they know for sure what's going on. But, you're little pain trick shouldn't do any harm, right?"

Scott nods his head eagerly. The sheriff is right the werewolf will do anything for Stiles

John squeezes the werewolf's shoulder. "Okay, son. Let's go."

The three of them are met by a doctor as soon as they enter Stiles' exam cubicle. John can make out the restless form of his son through the team of nurses and other physicans who are trying to help Stiles. He needs to see his son. He's already a couple of mere feet from his son when he hears someone call out "You're the father?"

John stops and turns to look at who called him, "Yeah, I heard he's giving you a tough time."

The doctor, whose white coat has 'Dr. Tyler' embroidered on it, gives the sheriff a sad frown, nodding. "True, I have had to dodge a couple of punches courtesy of your son."

John can't help but sigh. Stiles is never violent unless he has to be. So the fact that he is throwing punches at medical personnel proves how out of his mind with fever his son is.

Sensing the sheriff's concern the doctor explains, "It's the fever. And unfortunately we can't give him anything to bring it down until he know what we're dealing with. That's why we need to do the spinal tap."

John nods his head. "He's not the best at taking orders, but we'll see what we can do," he says as he motions to Scott.

The doctor nods his head and lets the sheriff and Scott moves closer to the bed. A sickening feeling settles in John's chest when he finally gets a good look at his son. Stiles' hospital gown is completely soaked through complimentary of the raging fever that's tearing through his body. And even though his body is literally burning up from inside, chills still wrack his body. His eyes are squeezed shut so he's blind to the nurses and other medical staff rushing around his room. And he's letting out that same awful keening sound that he was making back in his bedroom.

"Meningitis is extremely painful," Melissa says quietly to the sheriff.

Not being able to stand around anymore, doing nothing John runs his hand through his son's lank, sweat damp hair, gently massaging his son's head. "I'm here, kiddo."

"Da? That you?" Stiles asks, sighing in relief, as John continues his calming messaging.

"Yeah, bud. It's me." John turns to Scott silently telling him to start his pain relief trick. "Scott's here too."

With that Scott is making his way to the other side of Stiles' bed. "I'm here, Stiles." The werewolf moves into place and squeezes his best friend's shoulder, leeching the pain.

Stiles lets out another relieved sigh. His body starts to go lax, no longer rigid with pain. Scott's little werewolf trick is working.

"Scotty, that you?"

"Yeah, man. It's me."

Melissa and Dr. Tyler are relieved to see Stiles calming down. Melissa stands next to Scott, looking at her patient on the bed. "You ready to do this, kiddo?" Stiles doesn't respond, but she isn't surprised. The kid is free from pain for the first time in days. He's finally getting the rest his body needs. She uses soft touches and soothing tones as she maneuvers Stiles into the position needed for Dr. Tyler to do the procedure.

Dr. Tyler moves closer to the gurney, bringing over the tray of medical equipment he's going to need. "You ready for the lumber puncture, Stiles?"

John bites his lip. Is anyone ever ready to get a big ass needle shoved into their back?

"Thank you for your help, if you would please step outside we can do the lumbar puncture," Dr. Tyler says.

John thinks he actually hears Scott growl and he gets why. There's no way in hell he's leaving his kid. Not when the kid is confused, exhausted, and in pain. He's about to object when Melissa says, "They're staying."

The sheriff can see the doctor giving the nurse a disapproving look. "Stiles was here for an hour and we couldn't calm him down. They were here for two minutes and look," Melissa says motioning to the now content patient. "We can't afford him to get upset in the middle of the procedure."

"Fine," Dr. Tyler relents. "Just make sure you don't get in the way. He can't afford to lose any more time."

"We won't," John says as he continues to massage his son's head. Scott nods his consent as his hand remains on Stiles' shoulder.

The doctor moves closer to the bed. He stands besides Stiles bed, the teenager's back exposed to him. "Okay, then let's do this."

 **We're close to an official diagnosis, but don't worry this story isn't over yet. Not by any means!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf**

 **A/N: I know it's been awhile since my last update. The last couple of weeks have just been crazy for me, so I've had little time to write. I should be good for the next couple of weeks so I should be able to finish this story up pretty quickly. Well, on with the show. Here's the next chapter!**

 **All Too Human-Chapter 4**

Once again John Stilinski is sitting in an uncomfortable chair at Beacon Hills Hospital. Shortly, after hearing the medical staff muttering about "cloudy, straw colored CSF," he and Scott were quickly ushered back to the waiting room once Stiles' spinal tap was completed. The sheriff lets out a tired sigh. He knows from the way Dr. Tyler and the other nurses were scurrying around Stiles that it's not good. Not good at all.

The conciliation he has is that at least Stiles is finally resting. Granted, from the way he kept tossing and turning, it doesn't look like its very restful. But, hey rest is rest.

John can't help it when his eyes keep moving towards Lydia Martin. He can see Scott and Kira doing the same. He knows based on the anxious looks on their faces that they all are thinking the same thing. _Don't scream. Please, don't scream._

The group of teenagers is too quiet. He's used to them talking non-stop. Talking about things that he still can't put his head around. He thought for sure the youngsters would be saying something. Maybe talking about some ancient ritual that can scare sickness away. But, not now. They're quiet. Scott is too quiet. He doesn't like it. Wait a second.

"Are you trying to eavesdrop on the lab techs?" John asks.

His son's best friend could at least look a little guilty. But, he doesn't.

"Scott! That's a private conversation. You can't spy on their conversation. The doctor will tell us what's going on."

Scott nods his head. "You're right. I'm sorry," he apologizes.

Now that he got the mean parent/cop show out of the way, he can ask what he really wants to. "Now what are they saying?"

Scott lets out an all too familiar smirk. "They're-"

But before he could get out what he overheard, Dr. Tyler and Melissa are walking back into the waiting room.

"We got Stiles' results from the spinal tap," Dr. Tyler begins.

"And?" Lydia cuts in.

Melissa sends the redhead a glare, but the banshee pays it no mind. All of her attention is on the doctor as he continues, "It's what we were suspecting. Stiles has contracted meningitis. Bacteria meningitis to be more specific."

"That's good," Scott says, relief etched in his voice. "I mean now that you know what he has, you guys can start giving him the medicine he needs."

The physician nods his head. "Yes, we already started Stiles on anti-biotics to combat the infection. We also have him on fever reducers. We need to get his fever down." The doctor turns to look at John directly. "Unfortunately, he suffered another seizure shortly after you and Scott left the room."

"Jesus," John hisses.

"It's definitely a setback. Seizures play havoc with the body. We need to get the fever down so that Stiles' body can focus on fighting off the meningitis." Dr. Tyler says.

"But, bacterial meningitis is treatable, right?" Kira asks.

The doctor nods his head. "Yes, it is. Unfortunately, bacterial meningitis is the most severe of the different types. But, now that we know what we're dealing with we can start treatment. And now that we know what Stiles has, we have to get all of you on preventative treatment. Bacterial meningitis came spread quite quickly. I'm going to write you all prescriptions for similar medications that Stiles is on. I want to make sure we prevent you all from coming down with it. Got it?"

All the members of the group nod their head in understanding. Scott makes sure to do so as well. Even though it is doubtful that the illness would do much damage to the werewolf.

"Okay, then. I'll be right back. I'm going to go grab those scripts and bring them back here. Hang in there. Meningitis is very serious and Stiles is very sick. But, I'm hoping that now that we have the proper diagnosis and have prescribed the proper meds his body has a fighting chance," Dr. Tyler tries to reassure the group.

"So, what do we do now?" John asks.

The doctor bites his lip. "All you can do is wait."

The sheriff is pretty sure he hears Scott growl and he agrees with the boy. It seems like that's all they've been doing as of late.

 **XXXXX**

As a nurse, Melissa McCall knows that finding the diagnosis is a big part of making a patient better. But, waiting for the necessary treatment of said diagnosis to take effect can be grueling and frustrating. And right now she is at her wits end.

"Shhhh. Its okay, Stiles." She attempts to soothe the teenager for what feels like the thousandth time that day. "Just relax," she soothes as she wipes the boy's sweaty forehead with a cool washcloth. It's been nearly forty-eight hours since Dr. Tyler has made his diagnosis. And Stiles is not doing any better than he was when John and Scott rushed him to the ER.

"Mom?" Stiles asks as he tries to sit up. Melissa lets out a long, tired sigh. This is nothing new. Over the last chaotic day or so Stiles has been lost in delirium yelling about werewolves, darachs, and other supernatural species. And if Stiles wasn't yelling about the supernatural he was calling out for help. Begging his father, and Scott, and his mother for help.

"I'm here, Stiles. Lie back down. Honey." She whispers as she tries to get the sick boy to settle back down.

"Mom?!" Stiles asks again in a louder and more desperate tone. He opens his eyes to half slits, looking around the room. "Mom!" Not satisfied with the lack of response, he swings his legs aside and starts to make a move to get up from the bed.

"Stiles! Stop!" Melissa yells as she rushes to the other side of the bed. Stiles is already sitting up when she reaches him. Afraid that he's going to hurt himself, she firmly grabs his arm. As soon as her hand touches his overheated skin, Stiles flinches away.

"No, Mom! Don't hurt me!" the boy cries as he moves his arms to shield his face.

Melissa instantly drops her hand. Her mind flashes back to the hospital roof years ago when she found John with a disheveled Claudia. Her relief at finding the ill woman was overshadowed when she heard what John was saying to his wife. "Stiles is just a kid and would never hurt you. You know this." As John was taking care of his wife it was she who went over to a quiet Stiles who was sporting a split lip and scratches all over his face. She tried to get the child to talk about what happened but, Stiles didn't say a word as she washed his face and cleaned the cuts. He didn't have to. She put two and two together. The frontotemporal dementia destroyed Claudia's mind to the point where she attacked her own son believing that her ten year old was trying to kill her.

"Easy, bud."

Melissa is brought back to the present when she hears John's voice.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go home and get some rest." She chastises as John helps ease Stiles back to a supine positon.

"I could ask you the same thing. You're not even an ICU nurse and your shift ended about….. four hours ago," the sheriff replies looking at his watch.

Melissa makes herself busy adjusting Stiles' sheets. The boy is resting peacefully at the moment. No doubt his attempt to get out of bed exhausted him. "Yeah, well I sent you home four hours ago to get some rest."

"And I did. I got a couple of hours of shuteye. I also showered and ate."

Melissa gives him 'a yeah right you did look.' "When I told you to go home to get something to eat and some rest, I didn't mean for you to get in a catnap and run through McDonalds."

"I'm—"

Stiles lets out a moan as he mutters something in his sleep, burrowing his head into his pillow.

John runs his thumb over the portion of Stiles' face that is visible. "You know why I couldn't be gone long."

Melissa knows why. A parent can't take sitting by while their kid is hurting. That's why she sent Scott home last night. Meningitis is extremely painful so whenever he could Scott would try and take away Stiles' pain. But unfortunately in doing so, it wore the werewolf out to the point where Melissa caught him dead asleep in a chair in the waiting room.

"I get it," Melissa replies sadly.

John gives her a weak smile. "So, go home. I checked in with Parrish, I'm good for a while."

"I just have to check his oxygen levels," Melissa says as she looks at the monitor.

John shoos her off. "Let the nurse who is actually on call do that. Go home!"

"'ome." Stiles moans from his hospital bed.

The two overtired parents share a laugh.

"See? Stiles agrees with me." John says looking at Stiles and then back to Melissa, "for once."

"Okay, then." Melissa reluctantly agrees. She looks at her watch to see what time it is. "It's almost noon now. I'll be back by five."

John nods his head. "Good, I think Dr. Tyler said he was going to be back on at around that time. I need you here to make sense of what the hell he's saying."

Melissa gives Stiles a soft kiss on his sweaty forehead. "I'll be back, honey. Be good for your dad."

Stiles lets out a huff as he moves his head and Melissa can't help but let out a small chuckle.

"Even with a fever of 104.5 degrees be can still be a smart ass," John retorts.

"See you later, John."

"Bye, Melissa."

Melissa quickly gets her stuff together and is just about to head out the door when she hears the familiar click of heels. She looks up to see the ever impeccable Lydia Martin make her way into the hospital.

"Ms. McCall."

"Good morning, Lydia."

"Good morning. How is he doing?" Lydia asks.

Lydia's bluntness may come off as being rude, but Melissa knows better. The redhead is terrified. She has seen the teenager rubbing her throat. Melissa doesn't know if the move was intentional or not, but it definitely has unnerved her. And if being a banshee wasn't bad enough when one of your friends was battling a serious illness, Lydia also had the pleasure of seeing Stiles have one hell of a seizure the day before.

"He's hanging in there."

"No, more seizures?"

Melissa shakes her head. "Not since yesterday."

Lydia lets out a relieved sigh. "That's good, right?"

Melissa is torn. The nurse part of her wants to tell Lydia that Stiles is not doing that great. That the doctors are still worried about the raging fever. That his vitals are not where they should be. That Stiles has had five seizures and he can't afford to have another. But, then Melissa sees the worried look in Lydia's eyes. Sees how Lydia's afraid she's going to lose one of her best friends.

"We're still working on getting his fever down. But, when I left him he was resting peacefully," Melissa says.

"Scott with him?"

"No, I banned Scott from returning until this afternoon. Scott needs some sleep. Stiles' father is with him now. He just got here so he won't be leaving Stiles for a while."

Lydia nods her head. "It's fine. I got nowhere else to be. Besides I got some new reading material," she says holding up a huge, very old looking book.

Melissa quirks her eyebrow, "Do I even want to know?"

Lydia chuckles. "Probably not. Deaton gave it to me."

Melissa doesn't need to hear anymore. "Just promise me, you won't summon some ancient healer that sucks the illness out of people only to get stronger herself. I had to do some fast thinking when Stiles was going on about kanimas and banshees. Dr. Tyler came way to close to putting Stiles in restraints when he thought Molly, the night nurse, was an evil witch who was trying to kill him."

Lydia rolls her eyes. "I don't think Stiles was too off about that one. She yelled at Kira for talking too loud. Who yells at Kira?"

Melissa is too tired to argue with the young banshee. "I'm going home. Just please stay out of trouble."

"Of course I will, Ms. McCall," Lydia says with a obvious roll of her eyes while smirking.

Melissa shakes her head. Why does she even bother? "And watch out for Stiles."

The redhead's mischievous look is replaced with a genuine one of promise. "Of course, I will."

"Bye, Lydia." Melissa says as she turns around and makes her way to her car.

 **I hope the wait was worth it! I'm thinking that there will be about two more chapters to go. Thanks for coming along for the ride, you guys rock!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf**

 **A/N: We're moving right along. The parts in italics are flashbacks. Here's the next chapter. A lot is happening in this one, but I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Altogether Too Human-Chapter 5**

John Stilinski walks slowly and briskly as he makes his all too familiar entrance into Beacon Hills Hospital Intensive Care Unit.l. The clock above the nurses' station says it's almost two in the afternoon, but that means nothing to his exhausted body. He stayed with Stiles for nearly eighteen hours stretching from the day before until this morning.

He's internally grateful to Melissa and the kids for staying with Stiles when he needs to leave his son. As much as he wished he didn't have to, He hated to, but there were points where he had no other choice but to do so. Those times away were usually spent leave his son's bed side to getting some much needed rest and or food, as well as to check in at the police station. He hated it when he had too and he hated even more that his son's best friends hadgot to witness first hand just how sick Stiles is. That's why even though he can probably sleep for a good week, he's back at the hospital. He doesn't like having to leave the kids to look after Stiles. It's not fair to them, they're just kids.

An equally tired but smiling Melissa greets him as he nears Stiles' ICU cubicle. Her smile has him a little unnerved. It feels like forever since anyone around him has had anything to smile about.

"Part of me is afraid to ask, but why are you smiling?" John asks.

Melissa gives him a roll of her eyes as her smile grows. "Stiles' fever broke late this morning."

"Wh-what?" John stutters as relief washes over him. Stiles' high fever has had everyone concerned over the last couple of days. It wouldn't budge. And the resulting seizures has everyone concerned. They tried cooling blankets, cool baths, and played with several different fever reducers but still nothing seemed to have worked. Until now apparently. "Why didn't you call me? I was just at home sleeping."

"Exactly, where you should have been. You've been running non-stop the last couple of days. You needed the rest," Melissa explains.

"I can say the same thing about you," John retorts.

"Which is why I got Kelly to cover the rest of my shift. Now that you are here, I'm going to head home. I'm just going to grab Scott first."

Melissa is just about to enter Stiles' ICU cubicle when the sheriff stops her by putting his hand on her arm. "Seriously, though. His fever breaking that's a good thing, right?"

Melissa nods her head. "It is. He hasn't really woken up yet. But, his fever going down is a huge step in the right direction. Dr. Tyler should be in here soon to touch base with you."

John nods his head as the two them step in the ICU cubicle. Scott is once again sitting in a chair by Stiles' bedside, his hand on the human's wrist taking in his pain. The werewolf is so intent on what he is doing that he doesn't even acknowledge the adults as they get closer.

"Easy there," John greets as he squeezes the alpha's shoulder. Over the last couple of days the sheriff has seen the teenager work himself to near exhaustion. Well, for humans it would be near exhaustion. For the young werewolf he just appears tired….really tired.

"Hey," Scott says looking up at the older man with a small smile. "Mom told you?"

"She did," John answers as he looks at his son. The sheets still match his son's complexion and his son isn't doing his usual fidgety movements. But Stiles seems to be resting comfortably. He's not muttering about werewolves and the alpha pack and his face doesn't appear to be scrunched up in pain. Stiles turns into his father's touch when John cups his son's still too hot cheek.

"Stiles is probably going to sleep through a good amount of the day, so I say we do the same thing. That way we'll be rested and ready to go when he finally awakes from his beauty sleep," Melissa says.

"But-" Scott starts to say but stops when Melissa sends him one of her best mom looks. He puts his hand on Stiles' wrist once again to take some pain before he leaves.

"Scott! Come on!" Melissa says. "The nurses will make sure that he's not in pain."

Reluctantly, Scott lets go of his friend's wrist. John can't help but smirk when he sees Melissa do a quick check of Stiles' monitors before she leans down and kisses Stiles cheek.

The pair soon leave leaving the sheriff alone with his son. John takes his usual seat by his son's bedside as the only sounds that full the room are Stiles even, sleeping breaths and the various monitors attached to his son. God, he wishes for Stiles to wake up. He will give anything to hear Stiles talk about the latest supernatural baddie to hit Beacon Hills. Or hear the story about the history of leeches' healing powers. Hell, he'll even take listening to his son's lectures about cardiovascular disease.

John takes his son's limp hand in his own, squeezing the unresisting fingers. When Stiles lets out a loud sigh, John squeezes his son's hand tighter. "Rest well, son. I'm here."

 **XXXXX**

As his father and friends keep vigil around him, Stiles remains mostly oblivious. He feels like he lost a week when he finally does surface. During his time away he remembers an all-encompassing heat enveloping his body. He remembers screaming in fear as he dreamed horrible dreams. It was like he was there when he saw Peter kill Lydia and when Ms. Blake stabbed his father. And thank god the excruciating agony in his head is more bearable. He remembers seeing his father and friends. But, the glimpses are scrambled. One second Melissa was there when he closes his eyes. And the next time he opened them it was his father holding his hand. He knows Scott was there, not because he actually saw him but knows the werewolf pain drain trick. No amount of morphine can do what one simple touch from Scott can. That shit is the bomb

He knows it must have been bad because when he opens his eyes. Really opens them, not screaming about supernatural beings and when his body no longer feels like he's roasting from the inside out, he can see tears in his father's eyes. His father doesn't seem to say much as he holds on to his son's hand tightly. It's kind of strange because he thought his father would be lecturing about how scared he was and how Stiles better not do that again. But, his dad doesn't. He must have been really sick.

Seeing the rest of his friends is pretty much a repeat of the first time he saw his father. The huge smiles on their faces tells them how relieved they are. And even though he's really happy to see his friends, he knows he's still pretty sick. It seems like all he does is sleep. And from the few times he's actually awake for more than five minutes he seems to have a problem following the conversations going on around him. Then again anyone would have a problem following the genius known as Lydia Martin. His head is still hurting to the point where he has had to ask the nurses to keep the lights down low. And if that wasn't enough his ears have been ringing. His head is simply still a mess.

His father was the first person he saw when he woke up and has been a mainstay since. He knows his father should be checking in with the station and has voiced his concern. His father just needs to give him that look and he shuts up. He doesn't really question him after that. He figures that he put his father through enough as of late.

But, he guesses that his slow progress makes sense. He knows that he had bacterial meningitis. He was able to make that out with the conversation between his doctor and Melissa.

He is making progress though. He has far less monitors attached to him than he did when he first woke up. And he's finally been moved from the ICU to a regular room. His father is still the master of all other mother hens. He knows that he scared his dad, but jeesh he needs a break from the old man. So, desperate times calls for desperate measures.

"Go! Go buy a bacon cheeseburger and chili fries!" Stiles says to his father or believes he says. It's kind of hard to tell over the ringing in his ears. He told his doctor about it, but he doesn't seem too concerned about it.

However, his order does the job. His father takes the hint and gives him a small smile as he leaves his son's hospital room. Stiles feels a little bad when he watches his father leaves, but he just needs a break for a bit. His head is killing him.

 **XXXXX**

After eating his delicious, cholesterol filled meal John Stilinski is walking back into his second home for the last week and a half. There's a sinking feeling in his gut and he's pretty sure it's not because of the heart attack inducing meal. The feeling has been there since that morning nine days ago when he came home from work to a delirious, unresponsive Stiles. That feeling did not go away the days following the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis, the fever induced seizures, and delirious ramblings. He thought that the feeling would disappear or at least lessen when Stiles' fever broke and it seemed that Stiles was on the road to recovery. And it did…for a bit.

But then when Stiles began to be awake for more than a few minutes at a time, that sinking feeling settled back in. Call it what you will. Cop's instinct. Parents' intuition. Whatever you want to call it, John can't seem to move away from that unmistakable feeling that's there is something wrong with his kid.

He knows that it's only been five days since Stiles finally became lucid. He understands why Stiles is still spending most of the days sleeping. He knows how the body takes a while to heal after battling a major illness. But, it's when Stiles is awake that has him nervous. First, he's ungodly quiet. And quiet and Stiles is something that does not go together. Melissa says it's because Stiles still has an awful headache. And any noise might aggravate it. That's why they've taken to talking in whispers and keeping the lights down low. Second, Stiles does not really seem to 'be there' when there are more than one person in his room. He doesn't say much and he seems to have trouble tracking the conversation.

Melissa and Dr. Tyler has told him numerous times that it takes a while to bounce back from bacterial meningitis. As Melissa told him numerous times- _He literally had an infection of his brain, John! It's not like he's getting over a case of the sniffles!_

John's concern has even veered into him fearing that something supernatural is going on. That something supernatural has attached itself to Stiles. Something like the nogitsune. And god, he can't do that again. His fear resulted with him having an awkward conversation with his son's best friend the day before.

" _Hey, Scott!" John calls out as Scott is walking across the hospital parking lot_.

" _Hi, sheriff." Scott says as he walks towards the older man. He must have a disconcerting look on his face because his son's best friend now has a nervous look on his face. "Everything, okay?"_

 _John nods his head. "Oh, yeah. I mean Stiles is still sleeping."_

 _A look of relief passes over the werewolf's face. "Oh good." The two of them stand there silently, awkwardly for a minute until Scott says, "If, everything's good I'm going to head in and say hi to my mom. Maybe wake Stiles up for a little bit." Scott adds with a mischievous smile._

" _Wait a sec, Scott," John says. "Can I ask you something?"_

 _That anxious look is back on the teenager's face. "Suuuure, what?"_

 _John takes a look around the parking lot to see if there's anyone around. Satisfied that no one can hear what he's about to ask he steps closer to the teen, "Did you kids do something?"_

 _Scott seems confused about the question. "What? What do you mean?"_

 _John rolls his eyes. "I mean did you guys summon something supernatural or perform some ancient healing ceremony when Stiles was sick?"_

 _Scott shakes his head._

" _I'm not mad if you did," John starts. "I just need to know because I know how you kids come up with these convoluted, half- thought out plans. Then when things go to hell you ask for help."_

" _We didn't," Scott defends._

" _You sure? Kira didn't conjure some Japanese healing deity? Lydia didn't do some kind of banshee trick, trading one life for another?"_

 _Scott adamantly shakes his head. "I swear, we didn't."_

 _John nods his head as he takes a good hard look at his son's best friend. He has known the kid standing in front of him for over ten years. He knows when he's lying. Knows how his eyes shift to the right. And there's no such tell sign right now. The kid isn't lying._

" _Why?" Scott asks. "Is something going on with Stiles?"_

 _Great, now his paranoia is rubbing off onto the young werewolf. "Nothing, Scott. I was just making sure."_

 _Scott nods his head. "Okay, I'm going to get going."_

 _John tries to give the teen a reassuring smile. "Okay, don't ware Stiles out too much. He needs his rest."_

 _Scott nods his head. "I won't," he says as he walks into the hospital._

 _As the teenager disappears into the hospital that awful feeling has taken residence back in his gut. If it's not supernatural? Then what the hell is going on with Stiles?_

John's uneasiness with the situation has morphed into him always being at the hospital. He knows his mother henning is driving his son nuts to the point where Stiles basically kicked him out of his hospital room earlier. The sheriff would usually be annoyed by his son's exclamation. But, not this time. It was the most 'Stiles thing' he's done since he regained consciousness.

John makes his way into his son's darkened hospital room to see Melissa standing at the side of his son's bed recording his vitals.

"How's it looking?" John asks as he steps up to Stiles' bed. His son's eyes are squeezed shut but his breathing tells the sheriff that his son isn't sleeping. It must be another headache. His suspicion is confirmed when Stiles rubs his right ear and grunts in annoyance.

Melissa's back is to him but he can tell she's smiling when she says cheerfully, "He's doing great. His blood pressure is doing much better."

"That's great," John whispers as he squeezes Stiles' hand to let him know he's there. Stiles returns the squeeze.

"So what's the next step?" John asks.

Before Melissa can answer a loud commotion is coming right outside of Stiles' room. John rushes out into the hallway to see what's going on.

"Mr. Thomas, I can't let you see your wife when you are in this condition. She needs her rest."

"I'm her husband!" The man slurs, swaying unsteadily on his feet. He points his finger at the doctor. "You can't stop me from seeing her!"

"Hey!" John calls out. "Calm down. This is a hospital!"

His words seem to mean nothing as the clearly inebriated man lunges for the doctor.

"Shit!" John curses as he rushes towards the two. The three of them end up nearly destroying the nurses' station and a couple of gurneys get over turned. And of course hospital security appears just as he and Dr. Tyler get Mr. Thomas under control.

"Thanks, sheriff." Security Tony says as he takes Mr. Thomas from the sheriff's grip.

"The police are on the way," Melissa says from the doorway of Stiles' room. She has a smile on her face as she watches John adjust his shirt. "I guess you really don't ever get a day off."

John rolls his eyes. He looks around half expecting to see Stiles there. His kid always seem to be where trouble is. But, he doesn't see him. Kid must be so exhausted that he couldn't even get out of bed. "Hey, how about all that excitement?" John says as he re-enters his son's room. He expects to see Stiles sitting up eager to see what happened out in the hall. Instead Stiles is lying down with his eyes still closed. John takes his seat by his son's bed and says "Hey, you missed all the excitement."

But, Stiles remain silent. He does open his eyes and smiles at his father, "Hi, dad."

It takes that moment for everything to click. Stiles lack of speech over the last couple days. His son's trouble tracking conversations. His son not really 'being there'. And lastly what just happened right now. Stiles not responding to the very loud altercation outside his room and then his subsequent out of place comment. He looks over at Melissa and the scared look on her face confirms his suspicions. She noticed it too. There is something wrong with Stiles. Stiles can't hear.

"Hey, son." John says with a half-hearted smile, tears glistening in his eyes.

 **I know a lot has happened in this chapter. I just couldn't find the right place to break it up so I decided to keep it as one chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Teen Wolf.**

 **A/N: Well here it is, the last chapter! I'm pretty proud of myself. I said this story was going to be about five or six chapters and I was right. I'm not a medical expert but I did do a fair share of research for this. Thanks to all of you who have been reading this, you guys are the best! I hope you guys enjoy this last installment!**

 **All Too Human-Chapter 6**

"You need to calm down!" Melissa hisses as she ushers John down a hospital hallway.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Melissa! My kid can't hear!"

"We don't know that."

John gives her a glare as she tries another approach. "I was there with Dr. Tyler. He's right. Temporary hearing loss is a common side effect of bacterial meningitis. We don't know anything for sure yet. Let him run the tests."

"And what if it isn't temporary? Stiles isn't the only one that can do online research. I looked up the potential side effects of bacterial meningitis. Permanent hearing loss is on top of the list!"

"We don't know anything definite yet. The last thing we need is to think the worst before we know what we're dealing with." Melissa puts her hand on John's shoulder. "I know you're beside yourself right now. That you feel helpless. I get that. But, you need to check yourself. You have a hyper sensitive kid who has an uncanny ability to read you. And he just so happens to be friends with a motley crew of supernatural beings. The last thing we all need is a bunch of hormonally charged, supernaturally inclined teenagers running amuck. That's not going to help Stiles one bit."

John rubs his hand over his face. Maybe backing off is the best thing to do right now. "Okay, you're right. One step at a time. I'll let the doctors run their tests."

Melissa gives him a small, hopefully reassuring smile. "Good, that's all I ask for."

"Mom?"

"Shit!" Melissa curses under her breath as her son starts walking towards them.

John knows by the kicked puppy dog looked on the teenager's face that he heard their conversation. John has to let out a small chuckle at the irony of the situation. His kid can't hear, but his son's best friend can hear a conversation taking place on the other side of the hospital. Damn the irony.

"You guys," Scott stops for a second as he collects his thoughts. His voice catching in his throat. "You guys think Stiles is deaf?"

"Honey," Melissa tries to soothe her son. "We don't know-"

"Mom!" Scott lashes out. "I heard you. Don't lie!"

John steps in. "Easy, Scott. We don't know anything for sure yet, but we noticed—"

Scott is shaking his head. "You guys know something. Just tell me!"

"We've noticed Stiles is displaying some signs of hearing loss," Melissa confirms in a low voice.

Scott shakily nods his head. Then realization hits as he turns to the sheriff. "You knew something was wrong. Didn't you"

"Scott-"Melissa starts, but john cuts in.

"I knew something wasn't right. I've been thinking there's something wrong for a couple of days," John explains.

"That's why you asked me what you did the other day?"

"Asked you what?!" Melissa demands.

John turns to Melissa. "I've noticed that Stiles wasn't….wasn't Stiles the last couple of days. I know you and Dr. Tyler kept telling me it was just taking him awhile to bounce back. But, it felt like it was something else."

Melissa gives him a quirked eyebrow telling him to go on.

"I thought maybe he, Kira, and Lydia did something. Summoned some reaper or some other supernatural being."

"John!"

"Oh come on, Melissa. Would it surprise you if they did? You know how they have a habit of coming up with these cockamamie plans and we're usually the last to know."

The conflicted look on her face tells John she is torn. Part of her is probably pissed that he thought the kids would put Stiles in harm's way. But, there's also a look of understanding. She wouldn't entirely be surprised if they did do something with the well-meaning intentions of making Stiles better and then having it blow up in their faces.

"So what do we do now?" Scott asks hesitantly.

"You're going to go back into Stiles' room and do what you've been doing. Be his best friend," Melissa says.

Scott runs his hand through his hair nervously. "That's it?"

"That's it," Melissa replies.

"Dr. Tyler has already talked to Dr. Malone. She's the hospital's octologist," John explains.

"Otologist," Melissa corrects good naturedly.

"Yeah, what your mom said. Dr. Malone is going to some run tests to see what exactly we're dealing with. See if this may be temporary or permanent,"

"This could be temporary?" Scott asks hopefully.

Melissa nods her head, "It could be. So we don't want to get all worked up for nothing."

Scott agrees, "Should I tell Lydia and Kira what's going on?"

Melissa turns to John to answer. Stiles is his son after all. "John? What do you think?"

"I…um…I wouldn't say anything until we know for sure what's going on. But, if they do ask we'll tell them."

"Okay," Scott says. "I'm going to get Stiles some real food. Is that okay?"

"I think that he would love that," John says with a smile.

"I'm going to get going before they wonder where I've been," Scott says as he turns around to leave.

"Hey, Scott." John calls out,

The werewolf turns around, "yeah?"

"Grab me some fries and a chocolate shake."

The lighthearted change in conversation does the trick as Scott gives him a quick smile and a "sure thing" as he jogs down the hospital hallway.

"Jesus," John says running his hand through his hair. "What do we do now?"

Melissa squeezes his shoulder. "We do exactly what we told Scott to do. We'll be there for Stiles."

John nods his head. It's not exactly what he wants to hear, but he knows she's right. "Come on, introduce me to this Dr. Malone."

"Right this way," Melissa motions as she leads him towards the elevators.

 **XXXXX**

Lydia is pissed. She slams her yogurt down on the hospital cafeteria table. Sits down heavily into the back breaking chair, huffing loudly.

"Everything okay, Lydia?" Scott asks cautiously as he slides over making room for the redhead.

Lydia pays him no mind as she stirs her yogurt aggressively.

"Lydia? You okay?" Kira tries.

Lydia ignores them as she continues to stir her yogurt. "I don't like being kept in the dark."

"Kept in the dark about what?" Kira asks.

"I just went to try and visit Stiles," Lydia begins. "But, I was told to come back because Dr. Malone is running some tests."

"Who is Dr. Malone?" Kira asks turning to Scott. "I've never heard of a Dr. Malone before."

Scott shrugs his shoulders. He has a suspicion he knows exactly where this is going.

"Funny you should ask that, Kira. I wondered the same thing. So, I looked her up. She's apparently an otologist that consults for the hospital."

Yep, this is heading exactly where Scott doesn't want it to.

"What's an otologist?" Kira asks.

"A doctor who specializes in problems of the ear, nose and throat are normally called an ENT or otolaryngologist. If the doctor has an additional training in the medical and surgical management of dizziness, hearing loss, and tumors of the ear they may be called an otologist," Lydia recites expertly.

"How do you know that?" Scott asks.

"I read it online," Lydia says with a roll of her eyes.

"Hearing loss?" Kira repeats. The implications of the doctor's specialty is clear.

"I can tell that Kira had no idea what was going on," Lydia bites out as she turns to Scott, "But, you my friend are awfully quiet. And I find it convenient that you are down here when your best friend is having tests run by a hearing specialist."

Part of Scott wants to deny Lydia's accusations. But, the glare she's sending him propels him not to. Not to mention, if Stiles does have a hearing loss he needs all his friends on the same side. They can't have petty arguments among themselves.

"I know that they think Stiles may be suffering from a hearing loss because of the bacterial meningitis," Scott admits.

"You know this how?" Lydia hisses.

Scott bites his lip. He wishes with all his might he didn't hear that conversation from yesterday afternoon. If he didn't then he would been able to live in ignorant bliss just a little bit longer. But, sadly that's not the case.

"I overheard my mom and his dad talking about it yesterday," Scott says looking down at the table.

A slap on his arm causes him to look up at his frowning girlfriend, "What the hell?!"

"If I was closer I would do the same thing," Lydia says. "You knew this since yesterday and you didn't tell us?"

"What would it have done if I told you?" Scott asks honestly. "It's not like it could've changed anything."

"We could have…."

"Maybe I could…."

The two girls stop.

"I guess you're right," Lydia said. "It wouldn't have changed anything."

"So what do they think?" Kira asks calmly.

"I guess hearing loss is a common complication of bacterial meningitis. It could be temporary or permanent," Scott explains.

Lydia nods her head, "I think I read that."

"I guess the sheriff has been thinking that something's been up for a while now," Scott continues.

"Stiles hasn't been saying much," Kira says.

"Yeah, and it seems like he has a tough time keeping up in conversations," Lydia adds sadly.

"And he keeps saying his ears are ringing," Scott chimes in.

The trio sit there silently for a few minutes.

"Well, we can't go back. What's done is done," Lydia says. "But, we need to all be on the same page."

"Yeah, that means no more secrets," Kira says,

"Got it," Scott says. "We're in this together."

Kira and Lydia agree nodding their heads.

 **XXXXX**

"Dr. Malone," John greets as he takes a seat in the otologist's office.

"Mr. Stilinski," the doctor replies from her chair. "Please, sit down."

John's never been good at beating around the bush. In that respect he is so different from his son. "What do the tests show?'

Dr. Malone seems to appreciate his no nonsense approach. "The tests show that at this time your son has a moderate hearing loss in his right ear."

John takes a deep breath loudly. Fearing bad news and hearing bad news are two entirely different things. "And the left?"

"It appears that there is a profound hearing loss in his left ear," Dr. Malone says.

"Damn it," John curses. "You said 'at this time' what does that mean exactly?" John asks.

Dr. Malone gives him a small smile. "The permanent effects of bacterial meningitis can take weeks or even months to truly take shape. Stiles may be able to regain some of his hearing. I adjusted his prescriptions. I put him on a stronger drug that will hopefully combat the infection in his ear that has resulted in the hearing loss."

"That's good," John says hopefully. But, the look on the doctor's face tells him the other shoe is about to drop. "I sense a but here."

"Ossification can occur. Ossification is when bones fuse together. If this happens the hearing loss can get substantially worse. Also, making treating the hearing loss a lot more difficult."

It takes john a minute to let this sink in. Stiles has a pretty big hearing loss. He can get better. Or he can get worst.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Dr. Malone says.

"Have you said anything to Stiles yet?"

"Not yet. Stiles seems like a very perceptive kid. He asked me a couple of times what was going on when I was conducting my consultation."

"He talked?" John asks. "Before all this my kid never shut up. Now, he's just so quiet. That's what caught my attention at first."

Dr. Malone nods her head. "He did. His spoke at a louder volume than was needed. But, that's common with a hearing loss."

"So he probably has some idea what's going on then," John says more to himself than anyone else.

"He probably has some idea. But, I wanted to go over the results with you first. You know your son best. I wanted to ask you how to go about this."

John sighs. There's nothing in the parent handbook on how to tell your kid he has a profound hearing loss. That they don't know if he's going to get better or worst. The best thing he can do for Stiles at the moment is to know everything he can about his son's condition.

"Tell me what you can about my son's hearing loss." John says as he leans back in his chair.

 **XXXXX**

John feels like a dead man walking as he makes his way into his son's room with Dr. Malone following him. Scott immediately stands up when he sees the sheriff. He looks at the sheriff for any clue of what the results are. John hopes to hell that his fear is not readable on his face. He knows the werewolf was mad as hell when he and Melissa made the young alpha promise not to listen in on his conversation with Dr. Malone. So now Scott is going to find out the results at the same time as Stiles is.

"Where are the girls?" John asks.

"They have an English paper due," Scott replies.

John nods his head as he moves closer to Stiles. He makes sure that he goes to the right side. Dr. Malone said that with a moderate hearing loss the person can hear most of what a person is saying as long as the room is pretty quiet and the person speaking does so in a clear voice.

"Hi, Dad." Stiles says in a slightly too loud voice.

"Hey, bud." John says as Stiles tries to sit up a bit. "You remember Dr. Malone?" John asks as the mentioned doctor steps closer to the bed.

Stiles gives her a small wave, "Hi, again."

"Hi, Stiles." The doctor greets. "Remember when I met with you yesterday and this morning?"

Stiles nods his head.

"Well, I want to go over what I found out. Is that okay?"

Stiles nods his head.

"Okay, then." Dr. Malone says with a smile. She then motions to Scott. "Do you want your friend to stay?"

"Scott," Stiles says. "Is name is Scott. Wanem to stay," Stiles says.

John internally flinches when he hears Stiles' broken speech. He now knows why his son is combining words and dropping letters. He can't hear what he's saying. To Stiles, his speech sounds fine.

"Okay, then." Dr. Malone says is clear tone. "During my consultation I conducted a variety of hearing tests."

"And?" Stiles says, biting his lip.

"At this time it appears that you have a moderate hearing loss in your right ear and a profound hearing loss in your left ear."

Scott lets out a loud breath. "But, Stiles can hear. I mean he can hear this right now," Scott says motioning to his silent friend. "I don't get it."

"Stiles can hear a fair amount out of his right ear. That's why I'm standing on his right side," Dr. Malone explains.

But, John can see the teenager isn't listening. He doesn't want to hear what the doctor is saying.

"No, no, no." Scott mutters as Stiles remains silent. Then desperately, Scott snaps his fingers close to his best friend's left ear. "Come on Stiles," the boy pleads.

Predictably, Stiles doesn't react.

Not being able to take this heart wrenching scene anymore, John moves next to where Scott is standing. He puts his hand over Scott's. "Stop. Stop, Scott."

Eventually, Scott nods his head and rests his hands on Stiles' bed.

"Stiles?" Dr. Malone asks the silent boy.

"Profound?" Stiles asks, voice breaking.

"I'm sorry, but yes. The hearing loss is profound in your left ear." Dr. Malone says sadly. "But, as you can tell you have retained a good amount of hearing in your right ear."

John has to wipe his own eyes when he sees his son tearing up.

"And there have been huge strides with cochlear and other hearing aid devices," Dr. Malone says.

Stiles roughly wipes away the tears, shaking his head.

Seeing her distraught patient, the physician stops discussing his condition. "How can I help you, Stiles?" Dr. Malone asks sincerely.

Now that's a loaded question, John thinks as Scott sends the otologist a death glare.

"Eave me alone," Stiles says though the tears.

Dr. Malone nods her head. "Okay, Stiles. I know it's a lot to take in. I'll leave you alone with your Dad and-"

"Scott," the werewolf answers.

"And Scott. I'll be back in a bit to check on you. I'll be around if you need me. Okay?"

Stiles nods his head, "Kay."

Dr. Malone squeezes the teenager's knee on her way out of the room.

John stands there dumbly for a minute. What the hell does he do now? He's at a loss. And from the way Scott is clenching and unclenching his fists so is the werewolf. It takes a heartbreaking sob from Stiles to break through his fogged brain.

"Stiles," John says taking a hold of his son's hand. "Look at me."

Stiles pays his father no mind, so the sheriff gently turns his son's face so he's facing him. With all the determination he can muster he says confidently. "Look at me. We're going to get through this. I promise."

"Yeah, man. We're going to get through this," Scott reaffirms as he stands beside the sheriff.

Looking into his father's and best friend's honest eyes, Stiles jerks his head. "Gonna get through this."

"That's right," John says confidently.

 **Well, that's it! Before everyone gets nervous there will be a sequel. It's called "The Human Effect." And here's a little overview of it.**

 _It's been just about two months since the events of "All Too Human." The McCall pack is simply a mess. Scott is at a loss at how to help his best friend so he's now on a one man crusade in the fight against all things evil. Kira is digging more into culture's mythology. Lydia is spending any free time studying the newest advances in otology. The sheriff is struggling financially with Stiles hospital bills and growing medical expenses, not to mention a major case of guilt. If only he realized how sick Stiles was sooner and he's once again finding solace at the bottom of a bottle. And Stiles…he's just simply trying to adjust to a life with a severe hearing loss._


End file.
